Nventdr



(ModeL) 1 v A. SWEETLAND.

HINGE.

110.256. 105. Patented Apr. 11,1882.

Fl -E- WiTNEEEEE: INVENTEIRI .M L1AL M A UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

ALVAH SWEETLAND, on SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

HIINGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 256,405, dated April11, 1882,

Application filedJuly 15, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVAH SwEE'rLAND, of Syracuse, in the county ofOnondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Gate and Door Hinges, of which the following, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to that class of hinges which automatically closethe gate'or door by means of one leaf or bracket of the hinge riding ona cam or inclined bearing on the other V leaf or bracket.

Although hinges operating as aforesaid are very desirable, yet they havefailed to comeinto extensive use, owing chiefly to the excessive cost oftheir manufacture and their liability of becoming clogged or broken byice and snow gathering around the pivotal connection of the hinge.

It is to overcome these defects which myinvention has for its object;and to that end it consists in the peculiar construction of theconstituent parts of the hinge,as hereinafterfully described,andspecificallysetforth in the claim.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of my invention asapplied to a gate, showing the same in a closed position. Fig.2 is aview facing the post, and showing the operation of my improved hingewhen the gate is opened. Fig. 3 is an enlarged inverted plan view of themale part of the hinge, and Fig. 4 is a top view of the female part ofthe hinge.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A and B represent the two brackets or attaching-plates of the'hinge, theone constituting the male part of the hinge and being attached to thegate, and the other the female part of the hinge, attached to the post.The bracket A has on its outer or rear face arigid and solid horizontalplate, 8, from the center of the'bottom of which projects the gudgeon orpintle a. Around the said pintle, and concentric therewith, is adouble-inclined track or cam, r, in the form of an annular rim onthe'under side of the plate 8, the bottom edge of which rim- ("Model-lsocket, b, in which is pivoted and adapted to slide vertically thepintle a of the bracket A.

The socketed plate I), I provide on the side farthest from itsattaching-plate witha rigid'stud or pintle, upon which I mountdetachably a roller, 0, having on the side adjacent to the plate aperipheral flange." The rim or cam a" of the bracket A rides upon theroller 0, and the engagement of the inner edge of said rim with theflange of the roller 0 serves to retain said roller upon its pintle. Theshallow portion of the cam 1, being nearest the bracket orattaching-plate A, causes the gate by its gravity to normally stand in aclosed position.

Upon opening the gate the deeper portion of the Cam 1" is carried uponthe roller 0', thereby producing on the gate an upward pressure, whichlifts the same bodily. Upon releasing the opened gate it descends by itsgravity, and is simultaneously swung into a closed positifin by thetravel of the cam rupon the roller 0. The double incline of the said camallows the gate to swing in either direction,aud the junc- 'tion of'saidinclines determines the movement of the gate to its closed position. Inorder to render the latter'more positive, I increase the angle ofinclination at thejunction of the inclines.

It will be observed that by bringing the roller c to bear on the rim rbetween the gate and its pivot a most effective support for the gate isobtained and the pintle of the hingeisgreatly relieved of lateralstrain.

My improved hinge is perfectly protected against snow and ice by theplate 8 and its rim 1 forming a cap, covering and shielding the pivotalconnection.

It is obvious that by a slight modification in the form of theattaching-plates of the described hinge the same may be adapted to beapplied to a door as well as a gate.

I do not claim broadly a hinge having one of its brackets riding on aninclined track or a cam on the other bracket, as I am aware the same isnot new; but

I do claim as a specificimprovement in that class of hinges- Theimproved gate-hinge, consisting of the bracket B, having the socket I),provided on the side farthest from the attaching-plate with a rigidjournal, the roller 0, mounted on said journal and provided with aperipheral flange In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed to on theside adjacent to the bracket B, the my name and affixed my seal, in thepresence bracket A, having a solid plate, 8, covering of two attestingwitnesses, at Syracuse, in the the socketb, and provided with the rigiddown county of Onondaga, in the State of New ward-projecting pintle aand the concentric York, this 8th day of July, 1881.

double-inclined rim 0', the latter riding on the ALVAH SVVEETLAND. [L.8.] roller 0 and engaging with its inner edge the Witnesses:

flange of said roller, all constructed substan- WM. 0. RAYMOND,

tially in the manner described and shown. 0. BENDIXON.

